Help Needed - VPS Hosting For Marketers With Simple Needs

by Edge82

Posted: 9 years ago 9 replies

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Hello Warriors,

I am planing to start making landing pages for dating offers. I've been browsing the WF and stumbled upon discussions on hosting. But the more I read, the more confused I get. I hope you'll help, especially because it looks like a lot of people are in a situation like mine.

First, I learned that VPS is better for marketers than shared hosting because it will not miss potentially profitable clicks. However, some people here on WF say that this is not true and that the only difference is in resources and performance. Does shared hosting really drop clicks or not? Is VPS the only kind of hosting that doesn't drop clicks or are there other kinds of hosting that are as good as VPS for this?

Second question is about choosing a host and a plan. I don't have too much money at the moment and I have simple needs, so I wouldn't want to pay for something if I don't need it (actually I don't have that luxury right now). I ONLY want to make some landing pages for dating offers, host them and drive traffic to them. I expect few hundreds of clicks per day. I don't think it will go over 1000 clicks per day, at least not in the beginning (later I could upgrade to higher plan or change the host). I found this by StableHost:

https://www.stablehost.com/vps-hosting.php

Their cheapest plan is $9.95/month plus, as they say, a small additional cost if you desire their professionals to manage your server (which I do desire). I cannot find how much is this additional cost exactly. Now it looks like StableHost is a pretty reputable host, but I don't know what is their VPS service like, nor is this cheapest plan sufficient for my needs.

I saw people are recommending BeyondHosting, LiquidWeb and WiredTree, but they are too expensive for me right now. Are they really better than StableHost (or some other host) for my needs? If yes, what are they better in?

Also, if you know of any quality host that's in about the same price range as StableHost and totally satisfies my needs, please recommend.

Thank You!

#hosting #marketers #simple #vps

ChrisBa

9 years ago

$10 sounds extremely cheap for a Vps, typically with hosting you get what you pay for, I'd recommend a more reputable host such as beyond hosting

Thanks
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MarcoLoveLife

9 years ago

You can't afford to spend cheap on vps specially with paid traffic you will lose a lot , beyondhosting is the most famous in the industry and you can find a coupon 50% off for first few months , I'd also suggest you looking up knownhost, they aren't as famous but they have perfect uptime , and best support experience and server is VERY robust , I split test their server with beyondhost before I switch and they came ahead in speed test ( not very much ahead ) but still every millisecond counts when you get paid traffic.

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Edge82

9 years ago

Originally Posted by MarcoLoveLife

Thanks for that post and thanks for mentioning coupons. That made me research a bit and probably find the solution, but also find one or two questions that I need answered. I searched for coupons for hosts from this list:

http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/web-...tml#managedvps

I found that list by following a link in kpmedia's signature, because I had a strong impression that he has good knowledge on hosting.

I also included BeyondHosting in my research. It is not on that list, which is odd because it's #1 choice of many experienced marketers here. I would really love to know why it is not on the list.

All of the hosts have some coupons, but only two have what can practically be considered a free trial: Site5 and LiquidWeb.

Site5 has "First Month of a VPS2 for $1" and VPS2 is their managed VPS plan. I also found a Site5 coupon for 3 months free, but it probably doesn't work anymore.

LiquidWeb has a deal that I like most. They have a coupon for $100. I chatted with a man from their support team and he told me that these $100 are applied immediately and can be used without even paying anything. What I also like about LiquidWeb, beside the fact that it's valued and recommended by experienced marketers on WF, is that it offers daily billing. As the man told me, you can use the server, then pause, and you'll only be charged for those active days at the end of the month. Then you can resume whenever you like.

So now there is only the question of a particular plan and I would like a bit help on this. You can see what LiquidWeb offers here:

https://www.liquidweb.com/vps.html
and
https://www.liquidweb.com/storm/pricing.html

Is that basic plan sufficient for my needs or something higher is necessary? It is Linux server and it costs $50/month plus $10/month for operating system and full management (Windows full-managed server is more expensive - basic plan is $140 total). The guy from support recommended C zone because it's newest. What OS do you recommend (options are listed on that pricing page - last link)?

Also I would be grateful if someone with experience could tell me what knowledge is required for Linux managed VPS because I don't have any experience with Linux and I only want to be able to upload my landing pages and whatever goes with that. Is it too different than Windows?

Thank You!

Thanks
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Edge82

9 years ago

When I say basic plan, I mean that first one: 1 GB memory, 50 GB SSD disk space, 1 CPU. It is a plan for Linux server. I don't know why is that not written on those two pages, but if you click on the Order Now button, you will see that it is true (you can also see that the cheapest plan for Windows server is $120 + $20). Is there anyone who can help with my questions?

Thanks
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Edge82

9 years ago

Because of people who might be in a similar situation and reading this thread, I will write what I have found out by browsing Warriorforum:

1. Apparently even basic VPS can easily handle 50,000 visitors per day (in one thread someone wrote 10,000 - 100,000). For higher traffic volumes than that - higher VPS plan.

2. Everyone recommends Linux managed VPS, they say it's cheaper and better than Windows VPS.

3. For operating system, everyone recommends CentOS.

4. Everyone also recommends cPanel, but I have no idea what for. Apparently it is not necessary for uploading (FTP is used for that), but is useful for some other things and saves a lot of time and trouble - nobody says what other things exactly, even though it is obvious that the person who opened that thread doesn't know that and would certainly benefit from learning.

What I didn't manage to find out:

1. Which version of CentOS? It looks like CentOS 7 is the latest but is it the best? (for example, LiquidWeb offers CentOS 7 and CentOS 6)

2. They say cPanel uses a lot of RAM. In addition, if you run a tracker on that same server where your landing pages are, then apparently 1 GB of RAM might not be enough and it's better to go with 2GB. But if you don't run a tracker, only cPanel and your landing pages, is 1 GB of RAM enough?

If someone would like to answer these unanswered questions or correct/add something - THANK YOU! If not - thank you.

Thanks
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Kingfish85

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Edge82

Everyone also recommends cPanel, but I have no idea what for.

How do you plan to use the server? SSH? Are you planning to install manually & configure each module/application you need? Manage it & secure it as well?

It sounds to me like you'd be better off starting with a good quality shared/semi-dedicated hosting plan vs a VPS. Any decent managed VPS you should expect to be in the $40+ range.

The link to stablehost you provided are not managed, they provide you a bare, empty VPS (OpenVZ, basically jailed container). You should look for "actual" full virtualization - KVM, Xen, vmware etc.

Managed - depends on the host & what's considered "managed". You'll want to review and ask questions about their scope of support.

Self Managed - you do everything, they just provide you a blank server & no support.

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Edge82

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Kingfish85

It sounds to me like a "VPS" is going to be overkill for what you're talking about, especially without any current metrics on your resource usage.

"Visitors" doesn't really mean much. 50,000 "visitors" to one site, is very different from 50,000 visitors to another site.

1GB of RAM with cPanel is just barely enough. You should be looking for at least 2GB of RAM. CentOS 6/7 doesn't matter, they both work.

The whole "Linux is better than Windows" is also a crock - they both have specific use cases.

How do you plan to use the server? SSH? Are you planning to install manually & configure each module/application you need? Manage it & secure it as well?

It sounds to me like you'd be better off starting with a good quality shared/semi-dedicated hosting plan vs a VPS. Any decent managed VPS you should expect to be in the $40+ range.

The link to stablehost you provided are not managed, they provide you a bare, empty VPS (OpenVZ, basically jailed container). You should look for "actual" full virtualization - KVM, Xen, vmware etc.

Managed - depends on the host & what's considered "managed". You'll want to review and ask questions about their scope of support.

Self Managed - you do everything, they just provide you a blank server & no support.

You provided some answers, so THANK YOU!

However, it looks like you didn't read everything written so far in this thread, so I'll repeat most important things.

I'm expecting no more than 1000 clicks per day, at least in the beginning (I will see what's needed if the traffic increases later). It's "dating traffic", landing pages will be for dating offers. I wasn't able to find out if cPanel is necessary for my needs, since I only want to upload those landing pages and drive traffic to them. But I saw in other threads some experienced marketers saying to people in a similar situation like mine that they'll probably need cPanel. So, I guess I will need it too (although I would like someone to tell me what for as I couldn't find that info). With traffic like that and cPanel, are you saying that 1 GB of RAM is not enough?

Linux vs. Windows - OK, but seasoned marketers use Linux, they are happy, so I don't see a reason to go the other way, especially because Linux is much cheaper and I'm short on money at the moment.

I found a $100 coupon for LiquidWeb. I then chatted with a guy from their support and he told me that those $100 can be used from the start without paying anything. LiquidWeb's basic plan is this:

Linux server, 1 GB memory, 50 GB SSD disk space, 1 CPU
Cost: $50/month + $10/month for full management

If 1 GB is not enough, they have this plan:

Linux server, 2 GB memory, 100 GB SSD disk space, 1 CPU
Cost: $90/month + $10/month for full management

So no problem - at least one month free trial. Now, what I don't know is how much I would have to learn, since the server will be fully managed. Is it too much or no? I only wish to handle those landing pages, nothing more (I won't have tracking software running on that server). And I guess some documentation is available. Are there too many other things that need to be handled?

Thank You!

Thanks
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Kingfish85

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Edge82

"It's "dating traffic", landing pages will be for dating offers."

What makes you think a "VPS" is what you need?

Linux vs Windows doesn't have anything to do with marketers, they have a specific use case. In your case, most likely Linux. You wouldn't really run an asp website on Linux just as you wouldn't really run php applications on Windows. (you can do either or, but it doesn't make much sense).

I wasn't able to find out if cPanel is necessary for my needs, since I only want to upload those landing pages and drive traffic to them.

You will need some sort of control panel. Unless you're simply using SSH. Most "managed" servers are going to come with cPanel to begin with.

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Edge82

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Kingfish85

Sure, no worries.

I did read everything you typed however. The problem is, too many people get caught up on "I expect X number of clicks, so I need X number of resources" - it doesn't work like that. Visitors/Clicks/hits/views in reality doesn't mean anything. You need to know what your "resource" usage is in terms of memory/CPU/connections etc.

Any decent shared host should have no problems handling 10,000 to in some cases 50,000 viewers a day. That of course still depends on "what" that site is and what it's doing. Database, scripts etc..

What makes you think a "VPS" is what you need?

Linux vs Windows doesn't have anything to do with marketers, they have a specific use case. In your case, most likely Linux. You wouldn't really run an asp website on Linux just as you wouldn't really run php applications on Windows. (you can do either or, but it doesn't make much sense).

You will need some sort of control panel. Unless you're simply using SSH. Most "managed" servers are going to come with cPanel to begin with.

Thanks a lot for that post, I really appreciate your help. But can you explain things in a bit more detail? Not much, just a bit more.

I need VPS for reliability. I don't want to lose profit. Everyone says I will with shared hosting.

So with already described kind of traffic, cPanel, simple needs for handling the landing pages and resources that LiquidWeb offers, can you please tell me if 1GB is going to be enough or barely enough, with possible problems or possible big problems etc. (use whatever terms that describe your opinion most accurately)? Please answer this question in a bit more detail as it's very important to me. Thanks!

About that SSH, does it completely replace cPanel or do I still need cPanel for something? For what? If SSH totally replaces cPanel, is it much more difficult to learn to work with SSH than with cPanel? I saw that it's about textual commands, that's no problem, but how complex it is for my simple needs?

If I use SSH, I don't use cPanel at all, and have those landing pages and traffic, will then 1GB of RAM be sufficient? Again, please, the best description of your opinion in whatever way you like.

I see LiquidWeb offers CentOS without cPanel, but for support it says "Core-Managed" instead of "Fully-Managed." Now what does that mean?

Thanks!

Thanks

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Help Needed - VPS Hosting For Marketers With Simple Needs

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